Three Weeks
by Gwen Cooper Williams
Summary: It takes Gwen three weeks to realize she's moved in with Owen, and two more to break it off with Rhys. Gwen/Owen, Gwen/Rhys, and implied Jack/Ianto.


Sun streaked in through the window and she stretched and rolled over back into the warmth of the man lying next to her. He was sound asleep, so she edged herself out of the bed, not wanting to wake him. She grabbed her dressing gown off the hook inside the wardrobe and headed for the kitchen; setting up the coffee maker to make coffee just the way she knew he liked it.

She walked into the bathroom and knew what would happen. The whiff of coffee would wake him up, and he'd get out of bed, not bothering to grab a pair of boxers and come looking for her. He always found her in the shower. Sometimes he watched her for a few moments before stepping inside and joining her. Watched as the water cascaded over her perfect body that he was free to study...and study he did. He knew where every freckle on her body was, knew every scar, knew how she got them, and he had treated most of them.

He'd finally join her, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her towards him. She could always feel his arousal at the small of her back. Sometimes he'd bend her over and shag her hard and rough, tugging and pinching at her nipples until she couldn't take it anymore. Other times he'd gently turn her around, kiss her passionately, and slowly make love to her under the spray. On very few occasions, when they knew they both had to rush to get out the door on time, they simply showered together, enjoying the extra moments alone before their world became invaded with the rest of the day.

After they had cleaned themselves off under the hot spray, they'd wrap themselves in fluffy towels and head into the kitchen. She'd pour the coffee, and he'd crack a few eggs into the frying pan to make breakfast, all the while unable to take his eyes off of her. Sometimes, after he took the eggs off the heat, he'd tug on her towel and make love to her right in the kitchen. He never could get enough of her. It was pure torture on some days, having to see her fully clothed, covering up her beautiful body.

This morning was no different than the rest. He joined her in the shower, but this morning they took time to be gentle with each other. He gently rubbed shampoo into her hair, leaning down to drop a kiss on her cheek as she faced him, lathering a washcloth with soap to run over his body. After the shower, they headed into the kitchen as usual, but this morning he didn't make eggs. He shoved two bagels into the toaster and gently kissed her, urging her to go ahead and get dressed while he waited for the bagels.

She flitted off to the bedroom, opening drawers, picking out her clothing for the day. After she got dressed, she wandered into the bathroom, picking up her favourite brush and running it through her long, brown locks. She tugged open the "girlie drawer", as he had named it and applied some light make-up to her face.

He joined her in the bathroom, still clad in a towel, and offered her a bagel. She laughed and playfully tugged off the towel, pulling him in close for one last morning kiss. "Better get dressed, love. Don't want to be late," she said as she shooed him out of the bathroom.

They met in the foyer, she wrapping her purse across her shoulders, he checking and making sure he had everything in his pockets. They rode the lift together, silently, and got into separate cars, just in case one of them needed to go somewhere during the day. He hated it when she drove his car, and he wasn't too fond of having to drive hers, so it made sense. It also kept things a secret. If they arrived separately, no one had any reason to think they had spent the night together. Except that everyone already knew.

It took Gwen three weeks to realize that she had officially moved in with Owen. All that remained of her old life with Rhys was actually telling him it was over, and removing the last bit of her possessions from his flat. She wondered how Rhys hadn't noticed she hadn't been home in nearly a month. Wondered why he didn't notice her half of the wardrobe in his bedroom was nearly empty. Granted, she had told him she needed to take some clothing over to work for emergencies two months ago, but surely he wasn't that daft not to realize that over half her wardrobe had disappeared.

She waited an additional two weeks before finally getting up the courage to go to Rhys' flat. She had two suitcases in the boot of her car. One was empty, and one was filled with a few collapsed cardboard boxes. She still had her comm in her ear, just in case anything went wrong. It had been Owen's idea. He had seen Rhys yell at Gwen before for being late, and he wasn't sure the burly man wouldn't try to lash out at Gwen physically for breaking things off. Owen sat in his car to wait, parked around the corner from the flat. Far enough away for Rhys to not take notice if he glanced out the window, but close enough in case a distress signal came through on the comm. He let out a slow breath, confident that all would go well, and he and Gwen would soon be unpacking the rest of her belongings into their flat. I Their flat /I . He really liked the sound of that. Hell, he had been referring to things as being theirs for the past two months. Gwen never seemed to mind.

Owen nodded to Ianto as Ianto drove past and parked his car about a block away. Always good to have back up, even if it was just the tea boy. Of course, Owen also knew that Tosh and Jack were back at the hub, monitoring things on the CCTV and through their commlink and would come running if he needed further assistance. Owen watched as Gwen got out of her car and reached up to click on her earpiece. "Here goes. Wish me luck." she murmured. "You'll be fine, love. We're right here if anything happens."

Owen half paid attention to Gwen's conversation with Rhys. He didn't want to deliberately eavesdrop, he was only listening in case Gwen shouted for help. Instead he thought about where he could take her to celebrate their finally being together. Not anyplace he had ever taken someone before that was certain. Gwen was special. He began to daydream further but was brought out of his thoughts by hearing a door slam. He watched as Rhys angrily got into his car, no doubt about to drive over to one of the pubs he frequented to drown his sorrows at losing Gwen. "It's done." he heard through his earpiece. "Stay there sweetheart. I'll bring up the suitcases." He waved at Ianto to get his attention. The Welshman met Owen over at Gwen's car. Both men turned off their earpieces for a moment. "Thanks, man." Owen clapped Ianto on the back. "I did it for Gwen. I wouldn't want to see her hurt. By I anyone /I ." Owen grinned at the vague threat in Ianto's words. He knew he'd never hurt Gwen, and he knew Ianto knew, too.

"Right. Well, I'll just get back to the hub then." Ianto turned and briskly walked back to his car. He was happy for Gwen, even a little happy for Owen, but he couldn't help but be jealous of the two. He sighed and got into his car. He was sure Jack needed him for I something /I tonight.

It didn't take Gwen long to pack up her belongings, especially with Owen helping. She sent Owen into the bedroom with one of the suitcases to pack up her clothing while she removed her things from the rest of the flat. She dragged over the rubbish bin from the kitchen and Owen could hear the clink of broken glass as she threw out all the photos that lined the bookshelves, and then the thump, thump as she tossed books into a box. He gently packed up her clothes, making sure he folded everything nicely, and put her dresses into a garment bag. He didn't want to have the official start of their relationship marred with an argument because he managed to get all her clothes wrinkled. He cocked his head to one side and listened. She must have moved onto the kitchen since he heard cupboards slamming and pots and pans rattling. About fifteen minutes later she called back to him that she was done.

She had left the flat relatively neat, or at least, no messier than it had been. Rubbish bin placed back into the kitchen with a new liner, the full bag waiting to be hauled out. He was surprised to see she had left the computer plugged in and questioned her about it, just incase there were any Torchwood files on it. She showed him a keychain drive.

"I moved all my files to this and deleted my profile. Tosh is hacking into the computer and will send it a virus so he'll have to reformat. Tosh said there's a spare laptop in the hub I can have." I Wow, she thought of everything. /I He went outside to move his car closer to the flat, figuring they'd need the extra room. Finally, everything was packed up into the cars, the rubbish had been taken down, and Gwen did one last sweep of the flat. Satisfied she had gotten everything, she removed the key from her keyring and laid it, along with the few pieces of jewellery he had bestowed on her during their three-year relationship onto the kitchen counter. Owen placed his arm around her shoulders, gave it a squeeze and whispered into her ear "Let's get back to our place, eh?"


End file.
